Dive Brief:

• Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has issued an executive order to increase recycling, reuse, waste diversion, and composting across the state. The order is effective immediately.
• The order will also limit new or expanded municipal landfills, including debris landfills that accept materials from land clearing. 
• The order highlights Maryland’s ambitious goal of reaching 85% waste diversion and an 80% recycling rate by 2040. The state government must hit a mandatory recycling rate of 65% by 2020, and is expected to divert a minimum of 60% of its organic waste using recycling, composting, and anaerobic digestion by that year.

Dive Insight:

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will establish a reduction checklist aimed at tracking and encouraging waste reduction at its source. The state government will focus on source reduction, and will work to avoid excess packing from entering landfills, in part by returning reusable packaging to vendors. 

The department will not grant permits for any new municipal or land clearing debris landfill in the state, except to those that filed applications prior to January 19, 2015.

Maryland’s “Zero Waste Plan” was issued in 2014, with a focus on the role that anaerobic digesters can play in order to help attain the state's goals. Critics suggested the plan didn’t dig deep enough to address waste reduction.